He tucked an arm under me, and snuggled close. I got a whiff of his clean soap smell, and the minty freshness on his breath.
I rested my head against his shoulder, trying to ignore the urgency parading through my body. I wanted to talk to him about what he said when we were with the Unknowns-that he loved me. But I also needed to get back to Sharra. The creatures there considered me the new queen, whether I liked it or not.
The responsibility was already overwhelming.
Before I left, a great cheer rose from outside the castle.
"Sharra is no longer a prison."
"You freed us."
"Hail, Queen Snow."
All the creatures-from the unicorn to the gremlin-were freed, and could come and go as they pleased, and they wouldn't die.
That also meant they had a lot of questions and concerns.
Ryden, Eon, and Arianna wanted to speak with me about their responsibilities with regards to the changing of the seasons. They felt like they'd been doing it so long someone else should be in charge. The unicorns wanted to leave in a herd and roam the world. I explained that if humans saw them, they might hunt them, so they should be careful.
Several vampires wanted to change the name of the realm. They said that Sharra was too much of a reminder of the tyranny they suffered under. The trolls, and elves... The fairies, and the dragons... It was just too much.
Lying on the beanbag with Dorian was the first moment of peace I'd felt in a long time. Even that was stressful though, because I was worried about Professor Pops, and the rest of the brothers. Where were they? I also needed to get my mother-Ariel. Who knew what sort of plans Devoran would come up with, once he heard Sharra was gone. I had no doubt he would fight to rule over the magical creatures. And truth be told, I was fine with that, as long as he didn't try to enslave them.
Dorian kissed the top of my head, lightly. The movement brought me out of my reverie.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I turned so I could see his face, gauge his expression.
"Tell you?" he asked, caressing my forehead with the tip of his fingers.
"How you felt about me," I finished, and my face colored bright red.
He snuggled me close, and kissed my eyebrow. Then he shrugged. "It never felt like the right time."
I searched his eyes.
"When we were younger, you were this bright-eyed tomboy. As we grew, my feelings... developed. But by then the other brothers were talking about you... in the romantic way, if you get what I mean?" He raised his eyebrows and wriggled his eyebrows comically.
My face got hotter. "What? No they didn't. I have no idea what you mean." I slapped him on the chest. He caught my fingers with his hand and entwined our fingers. His hand was much larger than mine, but our fingers touching. Palm to palm. Finger to finger. Our hands felt perfect together.
A vibrant purple glowed between our fingers. We looked at each other, surprised.
If this happened when we touched, purple would be my favorite color again, I thought, my heart beating rapidly.
I spoke first. "I don't think you're a normal boy anymore, Dorian Henry."
He chuckled. "Normal is overrated."
I raised my head, my body longing to kiss him. He lowered his head so our lips were inches apart. His breath caressed my lips, like a kiss. It was warm and sent tingles through my body.
True love. It's comfortable and sexy. Reckless. Lustful. I remembered telling Cindy how I felt for Christopher, and it was all of those things... fireworks and kittens.
But it was more.
The best part? Knowing with absolute surety that the other person felt the same way. Dorian and I were new together. Hell, we weren't even really together. But intimately knowing his feelings for me made my heart beat fast. Sure there was desire. A part of me wanted to climb on top of him and kiss him until we couldn't breathe, but it was more. It was- It felt like- Dorian was the final piece to my heart.
Gabe exposed the physicality of love.
Christopher revealed love could be heartbreaking.
Dorian showed me that love, true love, was unconditional, far-reaching, and all encompassing.
"Dorian," I breathed, touching his face.
Before our lips could meet, there was a loud clumping, like dozens of feet, on the stairs.
We looked at each other, and jumped up, prepared for whatever was coming for us. We'd faced the Vampire Queen together. We could face anything.
"Hey," Heathcliff said when he came around the corner. "I found her! And, holy crap, she's with Dorian!"
Excited hoots, and shouts came from the stairs. The brothers. They sounded like they were fighting each other.
From behind him came my mother.
"Mom," I shouted, and ran to her. "How?" I asked, stunned.
"It's a long story." She hugged me.
Next came Daniel, then Salvatore, Bart, Sebastian, Gabe, and Cindy. After them was Professor Pops. He looked like he'd aged a lifetime since I last saw him. But when his eyes fell on Dorian, the skin around his eyes crinkled, and he smiled.
"Son," he said.
Cindy came to stand next to me. She smiled wearily, but she seemed more confident too.
"Merde, Snow. You scared us. I'm mad at you. Just so you know."
"Sorry, Cin." I leaned my head on her shoulder. She batted at my face.
"You've a lot of explaining to do." She crossed her arms.
I lifted my head, and nodded toward my mom, who'd been following our exchange with interest. "So do you."
"Touche, my friend."
We both laughed. And my mom joined in.
Dorian was surrounded by his brothers. They were peppering him with questions. Laughing. Dorian did his best to answer. After a few minutes, they stopped, and made room for Pops.
Tears streaked Professor Pops' cheeks. "I thought you were gone." He looked at me, and gave me a brief nod. Then turned back to Dorian. "I had hope, but a part of me thought you'd been lost."
They hugged.
The brothers pounded them both on the back.
I hugged my mom tighter.
There was one thing that could make this moment better. And that was my dad. I hoped, wherever he was, he was okay. Safe. Getting the help he needed.
My mom squeezed me. "You're one lucky girl," she whispered longingly, her eyes filled with a combination of happiness and incredulousness.
I nodded. My emotions too close to the surface to say anything.